1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a seat belt retractor of an automobile, more particularly to a seat belt retractor with a device which locks the retractor to prevent unwinding of the belt therefrom.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A previously known lock-type seat belt retractor comprises a ratchet mechanism and a pendulum member which engages with a pawl of the ratchet mechanism and swings in response to shock, "shock" being defined herein as acceleration or deceleration of the automobile exceeding a predetermined value. The pawl is normally kept disengaged from a ratchet wheel, but engages with the ratchet wheel when the pendulum member swings and pushes it up in response to shock.
The above known retractor, however, must be mounted so that a bracket which supports the pendulum member is always in a horizontal position. If the bracket is in an inclined position, the pendulum member would be at a slant relative to the bracket and would push up the pawl to work the rachet mechanism. This necessitates mounting the seat belt retractor in a manner and on a portion of the automobile ensuring a continually fixed angle relative to the automobile body.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,331,304 issued on May 25, 1982, to N. Matsuoka et al. discloses a seat belt retractor which can operate even when inclined. The retractor is provided with a member which supports the pendulum member in a manner such that if the retractor is at a slant with respect to the automobile body, the support member swings to stably maintain the pendulum member at a constant angular position with respect to the automobile body.
In this device, however, the rod for transmitting to the pawl the relative movement of the pendulum member to the support member must be situated directly under the pawl. This also restricts the mounting position of the retractor.